Trivia (49)

Had a stuttering problem as a child and said very little as a child; still struggles with the problem and says he has to think about what he says carefully before saying it (impressive, since he is known widely for his voice).

Provided the thunderous voice (uncredited) of Darth Vader, the villain of the original Star Wars trilogy.

Son of prizefighter-turned-actor Robert Earl Jones, from whom he was (allegedly) estranged long into adulthood. Yet they starred together in a well-received stage revival of John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men", as Lennie Small and Crooks, respectively (Kevin Conway also starred in the play, as George Milton).

He's the commanding voice that says "This is CNN".

Attended and graduated from the University of Michigan in 1955.

His first time acting was at the Ramsdell Theater in Manistee, Michigan.

Attended and graduated from Kaleva-Norman-Dickson High School in Brethren.

Grew up in the small town of Dublin, Michigan.

Callers using Bell Atlantic pay phones often hear Jones's voice assuring them "Welcome to Bell Atlantic", just before a female voice asks for a calling card number.

Was once a United States Army officer after college.

His "death" was announced during a live broadcast of an NBA playoff game in April 1998. The deceased was actually James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Martin Luther King.

Narrated the documentary Black Indians: An American Story (2001) , which explores issues of racial identity between the mixed-descent peoples of both Native American and African American heritage. Jones himself is a Black Indian.

Announced the forty-fifth greatest movie villain of all time by Maxim Magazine's "Fifty Greatest Movie Villains of All Time" list for his character of Darth Vader in Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977).

Has won two Tony Awards: in 1969, as Best Actor (Dramatic), for "The Great White Hope", a role he recreated in an Oscar-nominated performance in the film version of the same title, The Great White Hope (1970) and in 1987, as Best Actor (Play), for August Wilson's "Fences".

He was the first established celebrity to appear on the series Sesame Street (1969).

On October 8, 2002, he appeared along with Theo Lion from PBS's Between the Lions (1999) before the House Education Reform Subcommittee to explain the importance of supporting literacy programs.

Has African-American, American Indian and Irish ancestry. His paternal great-great-grandmother, Parthenia Connolly, was a native of Ireland who worked as an indentured servant. She married a former slave named Brice. Because Brice had no surname of his own, he took his wife's name Connolly. His maternal grandmother, Maggie Anderson, was part Choctaw Indian. He also has Cherokee ancestry.

His parents, Ruth Connolly and Robert Earl Jones, separated just before he was born. He was raised by his maternal grandparents.

To help get over his stuttering, he would write poetry, and his schoolteachers would let him read it in front of the class.

On June 15, 2005, he was forced to leave the Broadway revival of On Golden Pond (1981) due to a bout of pneumonia.

While in college, was a member of the Pershing Rifles, Co. M-3, a collegiate fraternal organizations for members of the school's ROTC program. Other members of this organization include Colin Powell and G. Gordon Liddy.

According to Jones, when George Lucas was trying to cast the voice of Darth Vader, his immediate idea was to cast Orson Welles. However, he felt that Welles was too well-known for the role. So instead, he looked for an actor with a deep voice, "like Orson Welles", which is how he got the role.

A Norwegian rock band has named themselves after him: James Earl Jones Barbershop Explosion!.

Is a United States Army veteran and former member of the 75th Rangers Regiment.

He used to use "Darth Vader" as his handle on his CB radio but stopped when it was frightening people.

Is the first African-American actor to play the President of the United States on film in The Man (1972).

Is one of only 14 individuals who are an "EGOT", meaning that he has received at least one of all of the four major entertainment awards: an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony. The other recipients, in chronological order, are Richard Rodgers, Barbra Streisand, Helen Hayes, Rita Moreno, Liza Minnelli, John Gielgud, Audrey Hepburn, Marvin Hamlisch, Jonathan Tunick, Mel Brooks, Mike Nichols, Whoopi Goldberg and Scott Rudin. Three of the 14 recipients, including Jones, did receive one non-competitive award: Barbra Streisand won a Special Tony, Liza Minnelli won a Special Grammy, and Jones won a Special Oscar.

He was awarded a Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs Walk of Stars on January 7, 1996.

Currently lives in Pawling, Dutchess County, New York. [September 2006]

Is a Republican.

Has never met David Prowse.

At the same time James Earl Jones was performing as Big Daddy in "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" in London, the Tate Modern was doing an exhibition on Star Wars iconography during the Iraq War.

Personal Quotes (9)

[from "James Earl Jones: Voices and Silences" page 360]: My voice is for hire. My endorsement is not for hire. I will do a voice-over, but I cannot endorse without making a different kind of commitment. My politics are very personal and subjective.

If you take a villain like Thulsa Doom or Darth Vader and have fun with it, that destroys the credibility of the character.

When I read that part in the script where it said, "Luke, I am your father", I thought, "He's lying. I have to see how they carry this lie out.".

[on the Iraq war]: All people have to be prepared. If we are going to be the police, we also have to be the guardians. We can no longer play games. I was not against the war in Bosnia. I was against it taking so long. I was not against the war in Somalia. Again, it took too long, and we didn't finish the job. We should've stayed and finished the job. About this pending war, I just think we should've finished that war the first time.

[on the terrible stutter he suffered from as a young man]: One of the hardest things in life is having words in your heart that you can't utter.

The world is filled with violence. Because criminals carry guns, we decent law-abiding citizens should also have guns. Otherwise, they will win and the decent people will lose.

I have to look for film or TV work. If the great roles aren't around -- and they usually aren't -- then I try to pick projects which will at least take me to interesting locations. To the best of my abilities, I give them Academy Award caliber performances. I can't put down any jobs that help me pay my bills. The problem is most of the movies and TV shows I've been in haven't given me much to do or say.

[on being the recipient of a lifetime achievement Oscar] If an actor's nightmare is being onstage buck naked and not knowing his lines, what the heck do you call this?

[on Star Wars] I am so pleased to be part of that full legend. Even as an observer. I am just an observer.